Andrew Flintoff, a match winner and entertainer par excellence: Richie Benaud

Former Australian cricket captain and well known commentator Richie Benaud has described retiring Andrew Flintoff as one of two Englishmen who were match winners and entertainers, and the only ones to have ever done the double of 200 wickets and 2,000 runs, the other being one Sir Ian Botham.

“Those players were magnificent to watch and they greatly added to my enjoyment in the press box and in the television area. One very good reason for that enjoyment was the manner in which the two of them played their cricket. Carry the attack to the opposition was the No 1 idea and because of that they had their off days as well as their memorable ones,” say Benaud in a write-up for the News of The World.

“Andrew Flintoff has done us proud but, more importantly, he did a great deal for the game of cricket - pulling people though the turnstiles with the sheer magnetism of his play,” Benaud adds.

“Some years ago, I was asked to make a couple of presentations to English players and I said to Andrew that I would like him to still be at the crease when an England innings came to a close. He tried but wasn't always successful in his endeavours, though he provided plenty of thrills along the way,” Benaud recalls.